democracy

Question 1

how does Lincoln (1863) describe democracy?

Answer 1

“government for the people of the people, by the people, for the people”

Question 2

what is direct democracy?

Answer 2

All citizens are actively involved in running the state
Voting will be on every issue, not just on laws, but also on, say, going to war, privatising national assets, or adjusting the winter allowance for pensioners

Question 3

3 advantages of direct democracy

Answer 3

1. ensures rulers don’t further their own interests aren’t at the expense of the peoples
2. can maximise freedom and autonomy whilst maintain safety, unlike anarchy
3. The intrinsic values of democracy (autonomy, solidarity, legitimacy) are most prominent in direct democracy

Question 4

disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 4

• in a modern society, it is unrealistic and unpractical for everyone to vote on every issue as not only would people not have time to vote, they may become unmotivated and disillusioned with politics
• who would set the agenda for what we vote on?

Question 5

What is indirect/representative democracy

Answer 5

• All citizens vote for representatives
• But on most issues, only these representatives get to vote
• Only occasionally might there be direct voting, when there is a referendum

Question 6

advantages of a representative democracy

Answer 6

• We don’t face the burden of ruling: of informing ourselves and making constant decisions
• We can also elect, and vote out, those who set the agenda
• Accountability: Our rulers will be accountable to us, so they will not be entirely free to favour themselves over us – ensuring some measure of rule for the people.
• We also can vote for people who we think are especially skilled at the job of ruling – expertise
• Also, if our representatives change periodically, we will avoid having a single ruling class, with its own distinct interests.

Question 7

disadvantages of representative democracy

Answer 7

• rulers may not act on the behalf of the people that voted them but instead for their own interest
• Electoral system may affect the representation of the people in government
• tyranny of the majority

Question 8

what is ‘tyranny of the majority’?

Answer 8

where a government make decisions based on the majority’s desires, without regard for the minorities beliefs

Question 9

how does the tyranny of the majority threaten democracy?

Answer 9

threaten the solidarity of society as well as the autonomy of the minority. If the minority is large it could threaten the stability of the democracy

Question 10

What two examples does Plato give that challenges democracy?

Answer 10

1. Who do you consult about your health? A trained medical professional, or do ask a random crowd of strangers to vote on it?
2. the ship of state example. the ship is facing trouble and needs to directed successfully to avoid disaster. democracy is like having a clueless but powerful captain.

Question 11

What alternative does Plato give to democracy and why?

Answer 11

well informed experts rule and make decisions with peoples interests at heart as he believes they know what is better for society than the majority of people do

Question 12

name 3 flaws in plato’s argument?

Answer 12

that his argument implies that dictatorship is a better form of government and that by giving the class of experts the ability to rule doesn’t mean we should concede the power for them to run our lives. Giving power to unchecked experts is catastrophic
•	How are we to know if there is anyone with a special level of knowledge to rule, after all knowledge is fallible. 
•	Plato suggests the experts should have the interests of the people at heart, but how are these experts meant to know the interests

Question 13

What is Condorcet’s (1785) jury theorem?

Answer 13

Ask a large number of people to vote on a single issue, where they each individually have a better than even chance of getting it right – the probability of a majority decision being the correct one will be very high – approaching a certainty

Question 14

how does condorcet’s argument counter platos?

Answer 14

Plato argues that most people have a low chance of getting the answer right, whereas condorcet demonstrates that the people have a high chance of getting the answer right

Question 15

problems with condorcet’s argument

Answer 15

Condorcet only thinks it is likely that each of us has a better than even chance of getting a political decision right when that decision is a simple dichotomous choice (A or not-A; rather than A or B or C, or D, etc.)
When there are many alternatives, any one of which could be the right one, it will be harder to pick the right one

Question 16

what are the three intrinsic justifications for democracy?

Answer 16

autonomy- making your own decisions promotes positive freedom
solidarity -we care more for each other’s interests when we feel like we are running the state together, rather than where some rule and others are ruled.
legitimacy - we have more reason to obey as subjects if we vote them in

Question 17

What does Rousseau’s famous “the people of england regards itself as free; but it is grossly mistaken” (1762) quote demonstrate about democracy?

Answer 17

it shows the illusion that although we believe that by voting for a representative we are almost ruling ourselves. however rousseau shows that once they are elected they act for their own or parties interests and you arent in fact ruling

Question 18

what is Rousseau’s answer to democracy?

Answer 18

we should strive for the general will which is the decision/action/policy that is equally in the interests of the all members of society.

Question 19

what are the problems with rousseau’s general will notion

Answer 19

• It is unrealistic for Rousseau’s general will theory to be exercised in a modern society as it is reliant on having a closely unified society, and not only does society have many different cleavages, there is also many conflicting interests.
• Rousseau’s notion that obedience equates to freedom. Minorites where laws were made against their beliefs are forced to abide to them even though they took part in the decision-making process.